“Happy and successful cooking doesn't rely only on know-how; it comes from the heart, makes great demands on the palate and needs enthusiasm and a deep love of food to bring it to life.”
- Georges Blanc, Ma Cuisine des Saisons!

June 9, 2008

Ridge Gourd Kootu goes to Sig of "Live to Eat" blog , who is guest hosting JFI event this month. Sig has chosen a tangy fruit"Tamarind" as her choice for JFI, widely used in dishes everyday in most south Indian dishes. JFI event is created by Indira of Mahanandi. Thanks for choosing Tamarind Sig!:)

Tamarind:Tamarind is native to tropical Africa and grows wild throughout the Sudan. It was introduced into India long ago. It is extensively cultivated in tropical areas of the world. Sometime during the sixteenth century, it was introduced into America and today is widely grown in Mexico.Every part of Tamarind tree is usable ie fruits, flowers, bark, it's leaves in various forms in cooking and for medicinal purposes. Tamarind mixed with other things like honey is used as digestive, for sour throat, bile and as laxatives. For more info about Tamarind , click here.

Ridge Gourd Kootu:Kootu is any dish made with gravy along with spices, a dish commonly made in South India.Here is my Kootu with Ridge gourd, which are like gold to me since I don't get these veggie often unless I drive to to Indian store miles away! I have already made Puliyogarai with Tamarind before. Kootu is the next best thing I can think of for Tamarind event!:))

To roast lightly and powder:3 tbsp dry coconut,1 tbsp Coriander seeds,1 tsp Cumin seeds,1/2" cinnamon(Dalchini),2-3 Kashmiri red chillies or paprika for color,1 tsp or 10 pepper corns.Roast all the above and powder in a grinder.Or use 1-2 tbsp of your favorite home made masala powder.

How to:1. Peel the outer ridges of the gourd slightly, wash and chop the gourd to small pieces. Remove the seeds if they are not tender, otherwise you can leave them as they are.2. Heat oil in a pan, add all the seasoning ingredients one by one and fry until onion is reddish.3. Add in the gourd pieces, stir fry for 2 minutes and add 1-2 cups of water, tomato, tamarind and cook until gourd is soft and cooked.4. Add in the masala powder, mix well and simmer. Add Cilantro and turn off the heat.5. Serve with Chapatis. Tastes better the next day!

Finally, here is an event with "Chicken" as a choice!! YAY!! Vandana Rajeshof "cooking up something nice" blog has started one this month. She asks us to cook any chicken dish we like. Here is mine which often make on some Sundays for lunch, "Chicken masala with Turmeric rice". Thanks for hosting Vandana, enjoy your first event!:)

Chicken Masala with fresh Turmeric rice:This is my favorite and the easiest chicken gravy I make at home when I don't have time for all the fancy masalas. What do I do to make the thali fanciful? I cook rice with some salt and fresh turmeric pieces to make it colorful!:D

To make it: 1. Heat oil+ghee is a pan, add all the seasoning ingredients, fry for a minute.2. Add Onions, fry until they are slightly golden on the edges, add ginger. Stir for a minute and pour in the tomato sauce. Fry until oil shows on th sides.3. Add in the chicken, stir until they are white on the outside. Add all the dry masala ingredients except Garam masala now, mix well.4 Pour in tamarind, salt, 1 1/2 cups water or chicken stock. (Cut down the salt as it already has salt in the stock). Cover and cook on medium heat for 10mins.5. Uncover and cook until you see the oil glisten on top. Add garam masala and cilantro, mix well and take off the heat. Serve with turmeric rice and a salad or potato crisps.Chicken Masala tastes better if you leave the gravy overnight in the fridge.

Fresh Turmeric rice:1. Add 2 cups of extra long grain rice, 3 1/2 cups water, few pieces of crushed fresh Turmeric or 1/4 good quality Turmeric pd, 1/2 tsp salt and 1 tsp ghee or butter. Give it a stir.2. Cook in the Microwave for 13 mins on high, uncovered. After 13 mins, cover with a plate and cook for 6mons at 50%.3. Take it out and fluff the rice with flat spatula, take out all the cooked turmeric pieces out, cover again until you need it. You can sprinkle some water on the rice and reheat in the MW for 2-3 mins on high to serve.

Note: I have given you how I make rice at home. Every MW and rice is different, so use your judgment for how much water to add and how long to cook.Enjoy!:)

(There will be posts coming out of my ears this month here at Aroma, watch out for those! Once I am done posting for most events, I will be off for a month from July, will try and catch up with events until then! :D)

Yeah this Ridge gourd kootu is indeed delicious. But the chicke is super fast and looks really delicious.I have never made rice in MW. I will try the way you have explained.The colour of the rice is superb

EC, we are all think alike! I made a post to go at FH on Wednesday, I see many like that in other blogs today!:DBut recipes are different, so post your's too. I love Kootu, more recipes are always welcome!:)

Sukanya, make the Kootu gravy a bit thicker for chapatis.I always reheat in the MW,so gravy gets thicker after sometime. Enjoy!:)Fresh Turmeric smells so good in rice, have to take out the pieces, doesn't taste good at all!:D

Cham, I had planted Ridge Gourd seeds, they has sprouted so well. Hopefully, I get many many Gourd in Aug, can't wait! Enjoy the kootu. You can add more coconut to make the gravy thicker. I have frozen the fresh Turmeric in pieces, I add it here and there with dishes, makes it look pretty!:)

Madhu, did you read my comment there at Bha's at that post, you will see what I mean!:DI know most people do think I am North Indian but my family is 100% Kannadigas and Lingayats to boot.(We, here in US,has given up vegetarianism but not my family in India!)Your version of Kootu sounds great too, Mysore style, will try.I make thick gravy for Chapatis, my mother never made it with rice,so I never tried! Got to try to make Sambhar with Ridge gourd when I get it next time!:)

Kamala, RG with Moong dal sounds delicious, I will try it with rice next time. Hopefully, I will get some of those from my backyard veggie patch, then I can try every RG dish out there!:D

Asha,I was salaivating when i saw ur chicken curry in the pan. Wow I guess it must be tasting awesome with turmeric rice.dear I have never made kootu. But I should try that with those amazing ingredients.

Awesome spread, Asha!! Love it. hey, fresh turmeric rice is something new to me. i had planted fresh turmeric in the soil last year and got the plants out of it. I didnt plan to harvest turmeric roots but turmeric leaves are used in konkani cuisine. and they are never available in the indian stores. I make achar with fresh turmeric. Hey, u know what? I thought ur rice is a perfect entry for Easy Crafts Rice event.

The Ghosale looks great so does ur chicken look absolutely delicious n u hv simplified it...I have now stopped making mw rice since past one year. 3 years knew to make only rice in mw other than re-heating! Tks for sharing!

Sowmya, it does give beautiful color and aroma too, nothing like that powder we all have!:)

I am glad I do that to ya Susan! Somethings are education for me as well, like other Indian regional cooking , strange veggies like Buddha's hand etc! That's the beauty of blogging, get to learn new things:)

Pearl, this is a very simple everyday chicken curry,tastes great, hope you try. Kootu pd, you can add it to any vegetable of your choice. RG is optional, not many like it!:)

Thank you Mahesh. You must miss your mom so much. I know it feels good to have traditional food we ate as kids!:)Hugs girl, hope you try these.

Meera, I have Amba Hladi pickle I bougt in a Gujju store, I love the taste. That's when I bought fresh turmeric too. I never thought of planting it, I should have! I bet leaves have some color too!:)I am making simple one for EC. She is a vegetarian, don't want to send her the chicken since I didn't take separate photo of rice!:D

Jaya, just throw in some tiny fresh pieces in rice when cooking, it will do it's job! I have never seen fresh turmeric before, I love it!:))

Thanks Rachel. Simple dishes are always yummy!:))

Purnima, it's so very easy for me. I have even taught Trisha how to make rice in MW, ONLY thing she has learnt so far, so she can eat ready made SWAD Palak Paneer with it! Hahaha!!Adjust the time and water according to your type of rice and MW, that's all. I use (Extra)long grain rice usually!:)

I've wondered what to do with fresh turmeric. Have you used the rice cooker? I've tried mine, but it gets dry and sticky -never got it right. I like MW for rice, turns out perfect. So you are set for vacations?:)

J, you can add to fresh turmeric to any ground masala as long as you don't find the pieces which are bitter. Nope. Never bought Rice cooker, thought of buying one but don't see much use. MW is better for me too!:)Kids are off school from tomorrow, got to take them somewhere,mountain this time, will post at FH next month. No school until Aug 25th! AHH..!!:D

Pravs, it was yummy. Sometimes I get tired all the nuts, cream and butter sauces, simple food is the best like Rasam and rice!:D

HiAshaMouth -watering stuff .Chicken looks so delicious and with Ghee it will taste evn better .Turmeric rice loks gorgeuos ,thanks for the tip of taking the Turmeric pieces out when serving LOL..Hugs and smilesJaya

Sia, I use bit of Tamarind almost everyday in dishes but exclusively Tamarind like Hulianna, Puliyogarai is more appropriate for this event, I feel!:)Yes, I have been updating the other blog with plants etc, will link tomorrow. It's 100+F today, still typing in the recipes for tomorrow's post, don't feel like it. Kids school is over tomorrow!:)

Dee, good to see you. Hope you try, good recipe for Kootu, use more coconut if you like thicker gravy!:)

Hope you try Madhavi, it's spice powder is traditional south Indian style!:))

TC, let me tell you first that I made your Greens Paratha today, it was fabulous.I did use Red chard and Rosemary, taste was yummy.Thanks,will link next Wednesday!:)Turmeric can be pickled, you must know that ie Amba Haldi pickle. Other than that, you can grind a piece in the masala whenever you make it for flavor and aroma. That's all I know! Beautiful color though!:)

Kootu with Ridge-gourd looks great Asha, have never had something like this with it. Also, the rice n chicken masala looks like a perfect combo. Fresh haldi in rice, tht must have been so fragrant. Yummmmm...

What would we do without the Tamarind, Laavanya? Specially South Indians!:))

Thanks you Sailaja, will be there ASAP!:)

Suma, they are Red Chards. They look like Spinach but have red, yellow and green stems and leaves are lot thicker than Spinach. They did grow very well this year because of the heat, nice to have fresh veggies form your garden. Did you plant anything? Tomatoes grow very well in the pots too!:)

Asha, A very Happy 2nd Blogversary! Without your blog and posts most of us wd hv been left high n dry! And yes, for a moment I thought u were a member of daring bakers, when I saw Eclairs! But u hv posted this a month b4 the challenge! Tks for sharing so many goodies n being super blogger, inspiring all of us to cook~different cusines! Thanks again!!

HeHe!! As if we all have telepathy about Eclairs,right? Yeah, I thought I will bake a dessert before I go,I see Eclairs everywhere now!;DThanks, it's hard to believe it's been 2 yrs! It is fun though. Good to see you btw. Enjoy blogging.We have been working for few hrs everyday on painting etc. Kitchen is scheduled to be done in Nov but you know how these things are! God knows when they finish. I might restart blogging in 2009!!:)See you when I can, hugs.

About Me

Peace and love!

(www.soft3k.com)

Search Aroma Blog dishes here!

Your feedbacks are always welcome! :)

Whenever you try any of my dishes from here at Aroma Hope or Foodie's Hope blogs, please leave a feedback if you can. Positive or constructively negative, your feedbacks and suggestions will always help me improve and learn from you too. But any unkind and nasty comment WILL BE deleted. Thanks! :)

Please do not copy without my permission, please ask. Thank you! :)

Copying and posting the photos or texts from any blog as your own without linking to the original author is unethical and not appreciated by any blogger. Do appreciate the time and effort we put into publishing these posts so others can try new recipes and enjoy. Please do not steal!!

Food Quote!:)

"This curry was like a performance of Beethoven's Ninth Symphony that I'd once heard.....especially the last movement, with everything screaming and banging 'Joy.' It stunned, it made one fear great art. My father could say nothing after the meal."

Anthony Burgess

What is Plagiarism?

Passing off someone's work as your own is known as plagiarism. Individuals who plagiarize material deliberately are committing an illegal act and it is unethical at best! It's ok to use pictures and paraphrase text with author's permission but be sure to cite the source of your information. Thank you. (Info from www.personal.psu.edu)